


pretty little monster

by balimaria



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, As we all know, But he doesn't know how to say it, Dragon-blessed!Zuko, Episode: s01e01 The Boy in the Iceberg, Gen, Had this idea and simply Could Not let it go, Hybrid!Zuko, I mean this is Zuko obvs, I would gladly drop kick him, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Iroh just wants the best for Zuko, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, POV Zuko (Avatar), Past Child Abuse, Pyromania, Pyromaniac Zuko, Season/Series 01, Zuko (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko is a bit more psychotic in this one, but for good reason tbh, but its not the focus, dragon!zuko
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:46:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25598272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/balimaria/pseuds/balimaria
Summary: Zuko is a monster. He's known this since the moment he was old enough to know. His father had whispered it in his ear as held Zuko's clawed hand in his own. Azula used the word like a whip, lashing it across his scaled limbs again and again. The townsfolk all knew it too, even if they weren't brave enough to say it to his face.Yes, Zuko was a monster. But he was a prince as well, no matter what anyone said. And that was the one thing he would never stand to lose.
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 259





	pretty little monster

_Zuko fiddled nervously with the hem of his robes, the words in his throat but his mouth unable to push them out._

_“I… um, Mother?” he said finally._

_“Yes, my love?” she replied, a kind smile already adorning her face._

_“What do those people mean when they call me ‘dragon-spawn’?”_

_Mother’s smile wilted, but she did not look away._

_”...It means you were blessed by the dragons when you were born,” she said quietly. “Those people who call you that believe it is a bad thing, but I promise you it is not. The dragons have marked you for a great destiny. ”_

_“Aren’t they supposed to be dead?” he questioned._

_Mother’s smile turned sad then._

_“Yes, my dear. They are. And that is why your life is going to be hard. But just remember that you have their fire in your lungs, my love.”_

_The next day, she was gone._

=====

Zuko growled softly to himself, fangs scraping along his lip. Fuck his family, and fuck him too. He was going to find the Avatar and he was going to go home and then no one would even dare breath at him wrong.

Almost instinctively, Zuko reached up to brush a finger against the scar that blossomed over his eye. It still stung sometimes, but at least he didn’t have to wear bandages like when it was new.

The crew had stared at first. That was fine. People always stared at Zuko. He was a monster and people stared at monsters who pretended to be like them.

_Mother had never called Zuko a monster. That had always been Azula to her, even though she wasn’t the one with scales crawling up her arms and teeth sharp enough to tear through muscle._

He brushed his hand along the rough blankets of his bed, catching his claws in the loose stitching, pulling the threads apart. Zuko didn’t care though. It was a blanket. A worthless, disgusting blanket that he was forced to use even though it was thin and useless so why should he even care if it got torn-hurt- _killed-_

Zuko felt wrong. Off-kilter. Like the world was spinning him around. Like there was blood in his lungs. Like he needed to _burn._

The blanket beneath him began smoldering, but Zuko didn’t flinch away. He let the heat build up in his palm until the fabric caught flame. Breathing heavy, Zuko sat still as rock while the fire wreathed around him. Its hypnotic dance brought his mind back to some semblance of reality.

Zuko needed to get out. He needed to do something. Needed to be away from the smoke even though it was the very thing that had brought him solace.

Standing abruptly, Zuko cast the scorched rag of a blanket aside. He’d buy a better one once they got out of this frozen waste.

He padded through the rig, foot-falls soft against the metal flooring. Maybe he’d just check the ship’s course, make sure they weren’t about to run into an iceberg. He wouldn’t put it past the crew.

Zuko blinked away tears as he emerged into the bright southern day. It was always so goddamn _bright_ here. The snow and the sky and the water and the ice all tossed the Agni’s light around like a game. How the hell did anyone live here? Why would the Avatar be here? What was he doing?

That was when the beacon tore through the sky.

It was light upon light upon light and it was _blinding_ and for the first time in years, a smile tore at the edges of his lips. Zuko knew he must’ve looked half-crazed, what with the winter’s light glinting against his teeth and the fire in his eyes. But at that moment, he didn’t care.

This was it. This had to be it.

“Set a course for the light!” he shouted at the helmsman, every thought of families and fire and broken, smoldering things forgotten. He dashed up to the head of the ship, smoke curling from the corners of his lips. It was finally over. He was going home.

“Nephew? Is that you?”

Zuko spun around fast enough to pop the bones in his neck.

“Uncle,” he said cooly, his voice decidedly not cracking. “We’ve found him. We’re going home.”

Iroh frowned skeptically. 

“Do not count your chicken-lizards before they hatch, nephew. We do not know what that light is. I do not want you to get your hopes up only for them to be crushed.”

The note of worry in his voice sent a snarl sprawling across Zuko’s face.

“You don’t know anything!” he yelled. “What else could it be?”

Iroh only frowned. 

Zuko scowled at his lack of response. 

“That’s _him,_ Uncle,” he growled, letting his claws drag along the steel wall with an awful screech. Iroh flinched at the sound, still looking at Zuko with worry.

(It was a bad habit Uncle always berated him for. Zuko did it anyway. It made him feel better.)

Zuko heard Iroh sigh behind him. He ignored the man. Uncle didn’t give a flying fuck about the Avatar, and made no effort to hide it. But Zuko could accept that- most of the crew thought it anyway. It was the _pity_ that always got to him.

His fingers dragged a little deeper into the wall.

=====

The beacon’s light faded to a dim glow after a minute or two. Zuko continued to stare at it regardless, afraid it might disappear if he blinked too long. It was a stupid notion, but his eyes were still dry.

They stopped behind an iceberg just short of the light. One of the advantages of their tiny-ass ship, apparently.

This mission required stealth and quick thinking- one thing Zuko did not trust any of his crew with. He wouldn’t let any of them fuck up his best chance. So, alone on the deck, Zuko began lifting his pauldrons off his shoulders. Their weight would only slow him down. 

“Nephew,” Iroh said. “You don’t need to do this. That water is incredibly cold.”

Not as alone as he thought, apparently. Zuko clenched his fists and- without turning around- he spoke:

“One of the advantages of being a monster is that I don’t have to worry about the cold, uncle.”

Iroh only seemed to become more distressed with the statement.

“That may be the case, Prince Zuko. But I don’t believe you’re thinking this through. You could still drown-”

Zuko snapped.

“Shut-” he threw a fist of flames across the ship’s deck _”-up!”_

His breathing was erratic and his fire wild, but Zuko found himself uncaring.

“What’s going to happen-” he growled. “Is that I am going to swim to that iceberg, grab the Avatar before he knows what's happened, and _bring him back._ Got it?”

Iroh frowned, but saw the futility of his pleads.

“Of course, Prince Zuko... Best of luck.”

The words were clipped, though there was no anger behind them. Zuko frowned to himself, but continued pulling off unnecessary layers.

Iroh left at some point. At least the old bastard knew when to leave a man alone for once.

Zuko removed the last of his extra layers, leaving only his undershirt and pants. Uncle was right about one thing, and that was drowning. He would need to be as swift as possible.

Zuko didn’t hesitate as he dove into the water. The cold was shocking for only a moment before the dragon fire cut through his veins, heating him from the inside.

It wasn’t hard to follow the glow, it being easy to see, even underwater. Zuko allowed himself a small beat of satisfaction, before coming up for a final, innocuous breath of air.

Then he dove beneath the ice floe, twirling around to search for the Avatar’s shadow against the light.

(And it would be the Avatar, because it had to.)

There- a darker patch... Then two. Then three. Zuko scowled to himself. Great, more people, and a guessing game with a time limit.

Well, no one said it would be easy.

They all looked the same, but Zuko’s oxygen deprived brain took a wild guess and swam towards the one closest to the glow. Then he dug his claws deep into the ice beneath the shadow, letting the dragon fire pound through his chi lines and into the ice.

Zuko heard a single muffled shout from above him before the surface tension broke.

As soon as the ice shattered, Zuko snapped his arms through the gap, dragging down what was hopefully the Avatar. The shock of the cold would make him weak, and hopefully his new buddies would be too surprised to do much.

Zuko didn’t bother looking at whoever he’d grabbed. Right now, his lungs were screaming for air- and living mattered more to him than capturing the Avatar, however reluctantly. As soon as he emerged from beneath the ice floe, Zuko kicked upwards. He emerged in a flutter of limbs, gasping down lungfuls of air. The man (child?) in his arms shuddered weakly.

Bald. _A monk._

Blue arrow tattoos. _An airbender._

Zuko felt the water around him steam slightly as his excitement grew. Not wanting to boil the child, he quickly moved on.

But he had done it. Zuko had done it. He was going home.

A thick wave washed over his head, sending both him and his cargo spluttering. The child was beginning to come to- there was no time to waste.

Zuko kicked harder, cutting through the frozen water like a hot knife through butter. The Avatar squirmed slightly.

He tightened his hold around the other’s neck. The squirming stopped.

A ladder was waiting for Zuko when he finally made it back to the ship. Vaguely, he could spot Iroh’s bulky shadow waiting at the top. Not giving himself time for hesitation, Zuko pulled himself and the Avatar from the water. The ladder was scaled slower than he would’ve preferred, but that couldn't be helped. 

Finally- breath coming heavy and fast from his mouth- Zuko stumbled over the edge of the ship, collapsing upon the deck.

“Tie him up,” he sputtered to the captain.

Zuko wiped water from his eyes, watching with disinterest as his clothes dripped onto the metal floor. 

_The Avatar is mine._

The elation wiped away the exhaustion, filling his veins with lightning. Suddenly he was standing and suddenly his clothes were dry and there was steam in the air and he was _laughing._

Iroh’s soft footfalls approached him from behind, but Zuko found himself uncaring. Even when his soft words drifted through the steam, the dry sound still ripped from his lungs.

It was too long and not long enough when it stopped.

A heartbeat later and Zuko was facing his uncle, a smile sitting all wrong on his face.

“I’m going home,” he hissed.

And Iroh smiled but it looked so sad and then he was talking and they were walking and Zuko was in his bed with the scorched blanket and he didn’t know how he’d gotten there-

“You should rest, nephew. It has been a long day. We will take care of the Avatar.”

He had laid down without complaint because for some reason his mouth had stopped working. He didn’t want to leave it in the crews hand because they would _fuck it up_ and yet it was dark and Uncle was gone.

Zuko laid in the blackness, his claws dug deep into the covers. He needed to move, to make sure the Avatar was incapacitated. But his body wouldn’t listen.

A curtain of smoke lifted from his fingers. He watched, eyes clouded over, and the rest of his bed went up in flames.

=====

Zuko wasn’t sure how it’d happened. One minute, he was going home. The next, the Avatar was making a run for it across the deck of the ship.

But he was not going to make it that fucking easy.

Teeth bared, Zuko launched himself after his quarry, spitting wild bolts of fire at the boy’s glider. Each one was hastily blown with a sharp gale of wind. He snarled, forcing his legs to move faster, crossing the ship in leaps and bounds.

Even with the Avatar’s airbending, he couldn't manage to escape.

Zuko felt a cruel elation as his claws flayed the glider into strips. The Avatar screamed and tried to stumble away, but Zuko’s fingers were already around his arm, dragging him away from the edge of the ship.

“You won’t be needing this anymore, Avatar.”

Zuko lit a fire in his palm and held it close to the glider.

_”Get out, monster.”_

_A too-gentle whisper and a handful of flame was all it took._

Zuko paused, and the fire went out.

There was a glint of metal at the edge of his vision, and before he knew it there were stars spinning in his eyes and he was falling over the edge of the ship. He braced himself for the shock of the water, but… it never came.

Ice spun around his body, breaking Zuko’s fall while simultaneously trapping him in place.

All he could do was watch as the Avatar and his water tribe buddies made their escape on some kind of massive air-bison.

Rage simmering deep in Zuko’s stomach as their silhouettes vanished over the polar caps. In seconds, his chi had flooded with dragon fire, evaporating the ice around him. Zuko’s water-logged clothes dragged him down, but he barely felt the exhaustion in the wake of his anger as he clawed his way up the hull of the ship.

“Care to explain what just happened?” he growled to his crew as he stood, drained, on the deck.

Frantic explanations and excuses all cluttered together, pouring into his ears like a too-loud waterfall.

Zuko shouted in frustration, sending a wave of fire crashing along the deck. It spit blue in places, something he had always been trying to achieve. 

_(He didn’t care. It didn’t matter if Father wasn’t here to see it.)_

The ship was silent save for the shrieks of the albatross-gulls. 

Zuko stood, slow and unsteady, the sun’s light blazing in his eyes. Uncle cautioned him, but Zuko filtered it out. 

“Follow the Avatar,” he growled, voice low. “And next time, don’t let him get away.”

Zuko walked to the front of the ship, his crew left staring.

He would capture the Avatar. He _would_ go home.

**Author's Note:**

> hdgjahbd im sorry this is a one shot, I would've really liked to expand on this idea more! but i've got so many projects in the works that it really wouldn't be smart to take on a another rip. so i'll pass it down to you, the reader. if anyone wants to expand on this idea, be my guest! just show me so I can read it :)


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